Kerala doctors withdraw non-cooperation stir

The doctors will now be available for VIP duty when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrives in Kerala on Wednesday.

Doctors in the State Health Service who had been on an indefinite non-cooperation strike for the past one week over the government’s refusal to revoke the transfer orders issued against six doctors in connection with the Satnam Singh murder case have withdrawn their strike following discussions with the government. The doctors will now be available for VIP duty when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrives in the State on Wednesday.

The strike was withdrawn following a round of discussions initiated by Health Minister V.S. Sivakumar with the doctors here on Monday.

Kerala Government Medical Officers’ Association president O. Vasudevan said the doctors had agreed to withdraw the stir following an assurance from the Minister that an independent inquiry by a competent authority would be conducted into the circumstances that led to the death. The doctors would be given a chance to explain themselves before any action was taken against them.